So a bunch of people remarked that the G.I. Joe movie didn’t seem like the kind of thing I’d normally watch, and it they were probably right. I don’t want to give everyone the wrong impression though! While I object to the glorification of violence, I think it can be applied in really powerful ways to the dramatic narrative of a film.

I’m not a fan of senseless violence for it’s own sake – those slasher flicks where the mutant hacks up teenagers on a camping trip aren’t really my thing. But I’ve caught a pair of really exceptional (and exceptionally violent) films lately I thought were worth mentioning.

I finally saw Inglourious Basterds a few weeks ago, and it was brilliant. If anything, watch it for the exquisitely evil villain, Col. Hans Landa, who steals every scene he’s in. He’s such an incredible character! Sinisterly snakelike, crank, crank, cranking  up the tension until you can’t stand it anymore. While a boatload of people meet a grisly end in this movie, despite all of the warnings of violence I found it pretty tame, for a war movie. There’s two or three scenes that induce cringing, but they’re put to good use.

Also, without giving away anything, the ending completely blew me away.

A little gang of us caught KICK-ASS in the theatre a few days after opening, and loved it. There’s been a lot said about HitGirl in the press, but I didn’t find her language or demeanor really out of place for her character – a demented little girl trained from birth to seek vengeance on crime lords. She definitely carries the film – one could make a case that she’s the only character in the movie who actually accomplishes anything.

Lots of violence in this one, too. Definitely not appropriate for kids, but I think tons of parents are going to rent this one for the kids without looking and we’ll have a generation of absurdly violent vigilante 9-year-olds beating eachother up in schoolyards. That word of warning in place, I’d definitely recommend this one just for the fresh take on vigilante superheroism.